The best loves are sometimes not those you expect
by Deremy
Summary: A Jeremy/Damon love story, what happens when both have feelings neither will express, will the tension get to high, and what will be the fallout. In universe upto season 4 "We all go a little mad sometimes" Rated M for future smut.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok this is my first fanfic ever, and tbh my first piece of literature in about 6 years (since high school) so if its not great don't scream, that said reviews are appreciated. This is a Damon/Jeremy fanfic, given we are now into season 4 its kinda hard to turn these guys gay in any sort of realistic way, so we are just gonna have to believe that they have been hiding feelings the entire time. I may/likely will be going pretty smutty/graphic later on or earlier not sure yet, so M for that. First fanfic, why not go all the way, get it out tone it down in future fanfics... maybe. Not much happens in this first chapter, its mostly set-up to get us in the right frame of mind so prepare to be bored.**

"You really don't want to be here right now Jeremy, get out before a put you one step closer to following in Alaric's homicidal footsteps." Damon hissed between clenched teeth. He was so _not_ in the mood for Elena's little bro, no matter how annoyingly distracting he could sometimes be. Yet he just kept standing there, not perturbed in the slightest, this whole "vampire hunter" thing is really going to his head. Though come to think of it, Jeremy has always been an incredibly calm individual, especially for basically still being a child. Not that he looked it, at all.

Jeremy's POV

"Look I don't exactly want to be here either Damon, this isn't exactly my idea of a good time. Personally I think Elena may be overreacting but-" Jeremy's words are cut off when yet again he finds himself gripped by the neck and throw against the wall. God Damon was predictable; thanks to his shiny new hunter abilities he could probably get out of this little situation: but honestly, he didn't want to. Elena would freak out if she ever found out, but he has kind of had a thing for Damon ever since his little talk during his whole depressive phase. If he was honest with himself it is kind of the reason he is so anti-Delena, he doesn't want to share!

So once again having Damon's hands round his throat, and his face so close he can every vein in his eye, not such a bad thing at all for him. Yet he couldn't give in to the pleasure, couldn't let it show or draw out the moment, if Damon even suspected he really would get another dose of death, and wasn't sure it would work anymore as a vampire hunter. Not something he thought Damon would take into consideration he guessed. "I came for a reason Damon, I need your help with the tattoo, the one that could fix Elena" he gasped from between Damon's exquisite hands.

Damon's POV

That brought him back to the present, Elena, no matter what she says or does, he can't fight this need to please her, help her and hate her all the same for making him this way. With agonizing reluctance he began to draw his attention away from the specimen standing before him. He still couldn't believe how complicated his feelings were to the Gilbert siblings, he had been chasing Elena for so long now, but no one had noticed he sometimes pays Jeremy just a little too much attention. He tells himself it's all physical, he is not one for labels and has a remarkable ability to appreciate both the male and female body, so an automatic attraction to Jeremy is perfectly logical, I mean, look at him.

But he was just fooling himself, as statuesque as Jeremy was, _that neck, _he knew it went beyond that. It most likely had something to do with his lack of proper fear; he always found that almost irresistible, or the vulnerability he still managed to show. That caused him to sometimes catch himself almost dropping his whole persona just to comfort him. He hates feeling that way, much like Elena makes him feel, so once again Jeremy always bears the brunt of his anger and this scenario was no different.

He slowly let go of Jeremy's neck, that was hard, and backed away. Trying desperately to reconcile conflicting emotions into something stable, not his strongest trait he admitted. He decided, as he often did to focus on the physical surroundings for a moment, push those pesky feelings away. Unfortunately his surroundings included Jeremy, but ah well, the pains he must bear.

He was wearing his usual ensemble, dark jeans and one of those ridiculously accentuating, tight long sleeve Tee. He wondered absently just how aware Jeremy was of how ridiculously hot he looked just standing there. He was just such a solid guy, significantly taller than Damon himself and far more built, he loved the way his shoulders and chest stretched the Tee in all the right ways. The tight jeans did nothing to detract from this either, strong thick legs that filled the material perfectly, a beautiful round ass that looks so squeezable it could cause physical pain not to touch it. And lastly of course that fantastically full, almost overpacked basket at the front, he had spent many hours wondering what lay within there and had only just stopped himself on several occasions from putting himself in situations where he could find out. That was something that always interested him, he was nothing special downstairs, though he was sure he made up for it in technique, and he always found another's size intriguing, perverted and crude though the thought it may be.

And all this was topped by a neck that Greek gods would envy and a face that was so hot yet so young that it created the strange dichotomy that he was an awkward shy kid in a man's body. That was what Damon really got stuck on, that sense that Jeremy really didn't think to much of himself it filled Damon with a desire to educated him in some rather entertaining ways.

Jeremy's POV

As Damon let go of his throat, god that was hard, and stood back he seemed to stop for a moment and gather his thoughts, while doing so Jeremy used that moment to give in to his thoughts and do a quick scan of the vampire before him. His eyes were the most arresting part of him, there colour and intensity literally could take your breath away when used to full effect. When he unleashed those eyes with his trade mark roguish smile, you were practically guaranteed to melt before him. He had always envied Damon's body, he was so lean and muscled he gave the appearance of grace and strength all at once, he made Jeremy feel positively clumsy in his body. Just looking at him now in his V-neck Tee and tight pants he looked like something that people would spend hours carving out of stone. His beautiful legs combined with an ass that Jeremy admitted more than once he had managed to brush past. His arms were possibly his favourite part though, not heavy and bulky but still managing to look perfectly muscled and strong, filling out the sleeves of his Tee beautifully. Jeremy had actually found himself getting off thinking just about having those arms wrapped around him. It was probably why he had never really gotten that attached to Bonnie, he couldn't stop thinking about those arms.

He realized slowly that Damon had pulled himself together and was looking at Jeremy impatiently; it wouldn't be long before his current stability gave way to another fit of violence. Quickly Jeremy gushed "I was hoping you could help me understand the marks that appeared when I killed the hybrid, they grew up my arm and seem to indicate something but I can understand what"

"Don't you have your witchy girlfriend to help you with this, surely she and the Professor hunk have a better chance of working this out, especially given I can't even _see_ the damn tattoo!" Damon sneered.

He really had caught him out, he was simply making up an excuse, he wanted to see him, console him almost, not that Damon would ever let that happen. But he had chosen his party line he better stick with it. "Look for the last time Bonnie isn't my girlfriend we broke up and secondly you don't trust Shane any more than I do, you really want me to go spilling our secrets to a random know-it-all, I'm sure that will end well!" he said.

Damon smiled condescendingly, "Oh look mini-Gilbert is starting to think ahead, that's adorable. But I am not in the mood Jeremy, I'll stick by my original thought: get out now or have another nap."

Jeremy sighed, "Whatever Damon, but seriously moping around isn't going to do you any good, so Elena still turned you down, even after breaking up with Stephen. It doesn't-"

"GET OUT!" Damon cried.

Damon's POV

"Why can't he just leave me alone", he thought, he had had enough of Gilberts, stuck with not one but two that won't or can't reciprocate his feelings. He just wanted them to go away, yet even as Jeremy turned around and started to walk out the door, he couldn't help following the movement of his arse in those jeans. "I'm so screwed" he thought, he was never going to get what he wanted.

**A/N: As I said not a lot happened it was just a short intro chapter to get used to their mindsets, hope you enjoy and please comment/review I need the feedback!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ok so first of all it was 1 am when I wrote that first chapter so apologies about a few grammatical/story errors, I will try and spend more time on each chapter in future. From now on im going to cut down on my author notes so last time ill just say, please feel free to review positive or negative it all helps. P.S. I am not anti-Elena but she may come off pretty bitchy in this story.**

Jeremy's POV

_"I am such a moron"_ he thought as he shut the door and walked out of the Salvatore estate. Not only did he not have a convincing reason to be there but Damon knew it too, he was sure that Damon was probably coming to the conclusion that he was a complete dullard. That said, Damon seemed to always feel that way about everyone, except his attention hogging sister. He turned around and looked back at the house and sighed "Come on Jere pull yourself together, this is so wrong anyway" muttering to himself. Settling his heart he resolved to go home and take his mind off Damon, maybe by testing out his new hunter stuff he could at least distract himself.

By the time he got home though he had once again worked himself up into a fairly angry frame of mind. Anger that he had made such a stupid decision to console Damon, I mean, _console_? How is Damon not going to notice that, no one comforts Damon, of course he wasn't going to sit down and have a chat. As he walked in the house he was immediately confronted by Elena and her newly heightened sense of protection, apparently things being heightened is the core of vampirism, not a day goes by when that isn't used to justify another vampire slip-up.

"Where have you been Jere, we were meant to see Bonnie this morning about your tattoo?" She demanded in her usual petulant tone.

"Just out Elena, I wanted to start testing out what has changed thanks to Connors hunters mark" he replied, can't Elena just drop it she always needs to know everything. It came from a place of caring he knew, yet her constant need to take everyone else's responsibility just ended up making her a need-to-know-it-all. He loved his Sis and he was desperately hoping that his mark could be the cure to her current predicament, but love is complicated and sometimes he couldn't stand his big sister.

"Wait…" she said as she stepped closer and sniffed the air,

_"Damn that vampire smell"_ Jeremy thought, he knew what she could smell and he mentally prepared himself for the backlash.

After one more sniff almost uncomfortably close to his neck, Elena suddenly expostulated, "Jeremy what the hell were you doing with Damon, his smell is all over you!"

Jeremy sighed; it was going to be an interesting conversation, so much for getting Damon off his mind. "I just thought it might be best to see if we can keep him calm, you know what happens when you reject him. He doesn't exactly take it well you know, I have borne the brunt of that rage several times if you recall?" he said, hoping she would just drop it and let him go, faint hope that it was.

"Exactly Jere, that's why you shouldn't be over there, it's not safe with Damon at the moment, I don't want you getting hurt" she said, gripping his shoulders now to try and further impress on him her magnified sense of protection.

"He wouldn't be so dangerous and conflicted if you didn't keep leading him on and then rejecting him!" he retorted. _"Crap, why the hell did I say that" _he thought, that came out a little too caring.

Thankfully Elena, as usual, immediately got lost in her feelings about the Salvatore's and barely even heard the strangeness of Jeremy's reply. "I know, I know, I don't mean to lead him on, when Stephen broke up with me a part of me just wanted to immediately go running to Damon and see where it took me. But I can't Jere, I think I need to get away from both of them, even for just a small period of time. I need to remember how to enjoy myself and have fun and love again, without the complicated emotions that Stephen and Damon bring up. I never get it right with them, so maybe I just need distance." She rambled, obviously speaking everything that came to mind. She looked like she was almost going to cry; once again her over-enthusiastic emotions were getting the better of her.

Jeremy was actually impressed, and pleased, by Elena. She was making sense, no matter his own feelings for Damon, he thoroughly believed that neither Salvatore was doing her any good, and it finally looked like she realized that too. A small part of his brain also jumped for joy, a chance however slim, to get closer to Damon without Elena's constant emotional roller-coaster distracting everything else. So he had to agree with Elena here, she was making the right decision, get away from the Salvatore's, leave the emotions behind and start focusing on getting her ridiculously unstable vampire state under control. "Your right Elena, I'm sorry, you know I've always thought that all this complicated vampire love was not good for you. I think this will be really good for you, and not just emotionally. Hopefully this will let you get your vampire instincts under control, I mean, remember that Caroline didn't really have much in the way of a relationship during her transition. And she has become the most stable vampire in town,_ including_ the much older brothers." He said soothingly, enfolding her in a brotherly embrace, hoping that she would be ok. It looked like this conversation had neatly avoided the topic he didn't wish to discuss. Trust Elena to get lost in her own issues.

After Elena calmed down she left to go see Caroline, apparently his little speech really did get to her, hopefully she would follow through and come out of this phase much like Caroline herself. Jeremy made his way upstairs and decided to take a long shower; he needed to get Damon's smell of him and not just for Elena's sake. He turned on the shower and started to strip, before he got in the shower though he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and he stopped and sighed. He knew he didn't have a bad body, he was tall and he thought his face was at least not disgusting. But he hated certain aspects that he really wished he could change, unlike Damon, Jeremy was in no way lithe or graceful. He was thick and clunky, he wasn't fat or anything it was muscle, but he wasn't ripped and he was just too broad. It made him feel really self-conscious at times, especially around Damon, whose body was walking, well strutting usually, perfection. He sighed and shook his head; there was nothing he could do about it, just move on. He stepped into the shower hoping it would also wash away his emotions; he really didn't want to deal with what he felt and most of the time he wished that it would just go away.

After the shower, feeling no better, he resolved to distract himself and go to the woods to see what this hunter's mark had made him capable of. Yet even as he got his weapons together and made his way out the door, lo and behold he is greeted by the one person who completed the love trifecta.

"Hi Jeremy, I think we need to talk."

"By all means, why the hell not, come in, Stefan"

**A/N: I do intend for my chapters to get longer but for now this will do I hope you enjoy**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: More notes! I have decided I am going to stick with single POV for each chapter, makes things much easier, though that may change in heavy main character exchanges**

Damon's POV

He grimaced and turned away as the door shut behind Jeremy, he just couldn't do anything right. Emotions had never been his strong point in the past, but Mystic Falls had taken that to a whole new level. He just kept pushing the things he wanted away, probably because some sadistic part of him didn't think he deserved it, not a vampire that has killed hundreds. He pretended to not care about them, and he certainly enjoys the kill, but it's just a smokescreen, a way to hide from feeling and caring about others or himself.

"You can come out now Stefan, your loud enough for a whole pack of vampires, or is that a mixed metaphor?" Damon muttered sarcastically.

"Your one to talk, you snore like a sleeping rhino, so graceful." Stefan responded snidely.

"What do you want Stefan, apart from getting your daily dose of eavesdropping? Did you have fun watching me yell at Jeremy, I'm glad to see you have stopped caring about him, I was that close to breaking his neck." Damon retorted, he was surprisingly calm about this, to be honest he really wasn't sure why he hadn't already run at Stefan and started one of their token fights. Maybe he was tired, or maybe Jeremy just sapped it out of him. "_Damn that kid"_ he thought.

"Didn't really seem your heart was in it Damon, which for you, I guess, is growth. But seriously you need to lay off Jeremy, you're going to get him killed, he just was trying to help." Stefan said_._

_"He really gets off on acting righteous"_, Damon thought._ "Where does he get the nerve, I wasn't the one butchering half or America with Klaus last year. Now he is all emotional again he somehow thinks he has the right to judge my actions, I can do whatever I like"_ He strolled over to the bar a poured himself a drink, this was not the conversation he was hoping to have directly after dealing with Gilbert number two. Alone time was so hard to come by at the moment. Damon turned back to Stefan glass in hand, "Look I told him to leave I was polite, it's not my fault that Jeremy can't respond to simple instructions, must be all that muscle clogging up his brain."

Stefan sighed, "Just leave him alone Damon, we are both out of Elena's life at the moment, we're on even ground. There is no need to do something you'll regret."

"I do what I like Stefan, and now I know that Elena will never choose correctly no matter what, I don't see why I need to stay in this crappy town" Damon snorted between sips. He was always saying that, but he really could never bring himself to leave. His love of Elena was so up and down, so complicated, he really needed to get away. Yet this constant, intense desire for Jeremy, with no ups or downs, just a persistent longing tempered with frustration that it could never happen, '_except that once' _kept him grounded in this hellhole of a town.

Stefan spoke, dragging him out of his reverie, "Yeah Damon your always saying that, yet your still here haunting us all. Tell me, what is really keeping you here?"

"Why little bro, you, of course. I couldn't get by without your constant sanctimonious speeches and incessant brooding" Damon hoped that would shut him up, and he could get away from this condescending tirade.

"Just stay away from Jeremy Damon, you can be angry at Elena all you want, but Jeremy is rather impressionable, don't take it out on him" Stefan said as he made his way up the stairs, no doubt going to write another novel in his ever growing collection of diaries. Why was he so concerned about Jeremy all of a sudden, he wasn't going out with Elena anymore, it didn't involve him. That said that seemed to be his brothers defining feature, a constant need to interfere in others affairs. At least when he did it, it was fun.

Damon immediately left the house to clear his head, and like always at the moment he ended up standing over Alaric's gravestone, bottle in hand. Even he had to admit this was getting worrying, he was too attached. "Well once again I'm left with no one to talk to other than a gravestone, typical isn't it? This town really has it in for me; it just won't let me be. I know what you would say, 'it's not right Damon, your feelings are wrong, and the world is only against you because you are, blah blah blah.' Well I don't care; it's this stupid world that's put me in this position anyway, why am I always left picking up the pieces of other peoples mess. I never get to follow my feelings- wow I'm starting to sound like Stefan, whining about my feelings. Spare me." Damon continued to rant; he couldn't help it, no matter what he showed the rest of the world, underneath it all he really was a lot more like Stefan than he would ever admit. Sometimes he needed to let it out, it was the only way that he could keep up his devil may care attitude, and he would die before admitting that he really was a person at heart.

For once though, talking to the gravestone of one of his victim's husband surprisingly didn't help. He left in much the same state as he came, and found himself wandering to Elena's house, it was like a black hole, always sucking him back in. He really shouldn't be here he knew, Elena had made it clear she didn't want him hovering around at the moment, she needed her space. And seeing Jeremy would bring up so many unwanted, frustrated emotions he was liable to snap, both mentally and a certain perfect neck. But who was he, Stefan? He was Damon Salvatore; he didn't care about other people, their wants and needs, fuck them all!

He entered the house through Elena's bedroom window (Seriously in a town of monsters does she ever lock her window?) and decided he wanted to see what Elena wanted to do with her time instead of being with him. Hearing the shower on brought a long missed smile to his face, a perfect opportunity if ever he saw one. Now spying wasn't usually his thing, he liked to let people know he was there, but just this once he thought being a fly on the wall would be a definite thrill. A part deep within him saw what this was, a desperate act, a desperate stalker act of a depressed man, but that part was left unheard by the rest of him. Cracking the door to the bathroom just a fraction, he positioned himself for a perfect view and waited for his deserved treat. Moments later he got it, just not the treat he was expecting.

As Jeremy stepped out of the shower Damon's emotions started a conga line, emotion after emotion raced past. Surprise, guilt, discomfort, annoyance, all finally settling on pleasure, almost swooningly so. No matter what the rest of his emotions were telling him, he was currently being treated to quite a sight, though not quite as much sight as he hoped. It seemed Jeremy wasn't nearly as confident in his body as Damon would have liked, already having a towel wrapped around him once he opened the shower door. That said he was still treated to a marvellously wet and glistening torso that looked positively lickable. Looking at that flat stomach, not ripped he admitted, but perfectly flat lying shaded under his almost shelf like chest, left him gasping for breath. Those muscles were perfectly shaped; they created a beautiful sense of strength and masculinity, without being so overly bulky to look like a roided up gymrat. Combined with such broad round shoulders and long thick arms, he looked like a walking picture of male perfection, and Damon was practically melting before the sight presented to him.

As Jeremy left his sight to the other side of the bathroom, Damon used that moment to compose himself, this was **not **what he had intended, getting a peek at Elena was one thing, his emotion with her were so complicated the sight of her would be a welcome simplicity. But Jeremy? His attraction to him was rooted in the physical and seeing him like that had Damon's head in a spin, he needed to get out of there before he slipped up properly and found himself in a rather more precarious situation, explaining his 'peeping tom' tendencies to Jeremy. He raced down the hall, secluded himself in Elena's room and waited, he knew he probably should get out of there immediately, but merely staying in the vicinity of that body was giving him a warm feeling he couldn't ignore. He needed to supress or release those feelings before he could go anywhere. So there he was, Damon Salvatore, finding himself in the bedroom of Elena Gilbert and masturbating to the thoughts of her brother, how wrong could you get? Since when did he ever need to find his own release, the town was full of pleasant ripe young things that after one look would be more than willing to help him in whatever way they could. Yet this is what Jeremy had reduced him to, what was it about that kid, was it purely physical, why had it gotten worse all of a sudden? He needed to control himself. He heard Jeremy shuffling around outside and just as he was reaching his much needed climax he lost it all to the sound of one ever present, always annoying voice.

"Hi Jeremy, I think we need to talk."

**A/N: Wanted to leave one note here saying I am unsure exactly where this is going, I'm making most of it up as I go, so any suggestions I am happy to take on board, I may not use them but they are always appreciated**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Apparently no matter what I say, there will always need to be a quick note from me. I seem to be a terrible proof reader of my own work, so I am going to start having to try really hard, some of the previous chapters are terrible at points. Thankyou for the reviews I will try and keep the chapters coming.**

Stefan's POV

"Hi Jeremy, I think we need to talk."

"By all means, why the hell not, come in, Stefan" Jeremy said, his words rather at odds with the complete lack of invitation in his eyes.

As Stefan walked into the house he tried to ready himself for what he knew was going to be an… interesting conversation. He had been watching Jeremy closely during the exchange with Damon at his house, and he had seen something that had shocked him; it was clear that at least some part of Jeremy _liked _Damon. Damon as usual was too distracted by his own rage to pick up on it. That said, reading emotions had never been his brother's strong suit. But Stefan had seen it, the slight sense of disappointment when Damon let him go, the almost blatantly obvious appraisal of the vampire standing before him, it was definitely not what Stefan had expected. Jeremy was gay? That had come straight out of left field, and he knew his brother, Damon would be all to willing to take advantage of the fact to mess with Jeremy even further. He knew from his own experiences too that after a while such labels as straight or gay just drop away, both him and his brother had had what some might call experiments, but really it just seemed natural. But knowing this just made it worse, Damon wasn't likely to just be repulsed, he would find a way to mess with him. He needed to make sure Jeremy didn't get hurt.

"Jeremy what were you doing with Damon earlier, you know it's dangerous with him when he is like this." Stefan started, not exactly sure how to broach the subject at hand.

"My god, you and my sister really are the same, look, as I said to her, it's none of your business; I was just going to see how he was. I mean we have a lot going on at the moment we need all hands on deck." Jeremy replied obviously trying to justify his reason for caring without revealing his true motives.

Even as Jeremy spoke though, Stefan found himself falling into his own head, a product he knew, of too much brooding, and he was constantly fighting introspection. At this particular moment he was being forced to admit to himself that it would be fun with Jeremy, as wrong and weird as it was, he could see that Jeremy was… an attractive individual. He had known this since he met him, but it was just an acknowledgement of appearance, not a desire or love for him, at least it had been. Something had changed in the last week or so, he hadn't seen him that much but when he had, he had consciously felt drawn to him, and it took some effort to force those emotions down. It had been brought to the fore this morning when he had seen Jeremy and Damon, and he had to admit, he felt jealous when he saw Jeremy's obvious interest in Damon. He was feeling it now too and he was panicking inside, why was this happening, this was not what he wanted.

Shaking himself out of his conflicting feelings he resolved to supress them and move through this conversation as quickly as possible. "I saw you at the house Jeremy, I saw your reaction to Damon" he said trying to force and admission from Jeremy, he needed to get him over this.

"What the hell are you talking about Stefan, you mean the way i reached for breath, when he was about to snap my neck? I'm sorry if unlike some people in this town I need to breathe!" Jeremy responded, obviously scrambling to hide the truth. '_This could get ugly' _Stefan thought, but he didn't back down.

Stefan steeled himself, "I saw you Jeremy, a part of you liked what Damon was doing, you were disappointed when he released you."

"Are you saying I'm masochistic, are you high Stefan, didn't think you could get any crazier than last year, but you're getting there" Jeremy retorted, Stefan was always forgetting underneath that large exterior and usually depressed disposition, Jeremy was actually a nerd.

Stefan knew what he said next was going to permanently damage Jeremy's opinion of him, and it actually hurt to say, but he needed to protect him. "No Jere, I don't think you like pain, I think you like Damon, I saw-" Stefan was interrupted by an angry vampire hunter shoving him across the room. His new hunter status had really improved his strength and speed, he wasn't faster or stronger than Stefan himself, but combined with the element of surprise and he suddenly found himself face up on the floor with an desperate teenager on top of him, pinning his arms to the floor and straddling his chest.

Even as Jeremy panted and began to compose himself, Stefan felt his body instinctively react to having this man on top of him. The feel of his thighs and arse on his chest, the look of his jeans stretched taut over his crotch, those thick arms pushed forward, pinning his own. No matter what he knew, how wrong this was, he couldn't seem to help it. And even as Jeremy seemed ready to move back, to apologise, Stefan found himself leaning forward, straining against his restraint. Then, for one moment, he found his lips upon the source of his desire, Jeremy's soft beautiful lips. The moment left too fleetingly for Stefan, as he suddenly lost that blessed contact and felt instead a fist to the face.

"What the fuck, Stefan!" Jeremy yelled, clearly confused and outraged.

He slowly stood up, racing to find an appropriate response, one that could possibly explain his actions. He didn't understand himself, this was not him, and he had never been attracted to Jeremy, at least not in any meaningful way, what had just happened? Unfortunately he didn't get the chance to explain, to fix what had just happened, because perfectly timed, Elena came bursting through the front door, concern in her eyes.

"Jeremy what's wrong I heard you yell! Stefan what are you doing here?" Elena blurted, obviously her magnified senses had picked up Jeremy's yell as she was on the way home.

"Uh, nothing Elena, I was just talking to Jeremy about how dangerous it is to see Damon at the moment" Stefan explained, hoping that Jeremy would go along, he wasn't sure if Jeremy wanted Elena to know any more than he did.

Elena sighed, "I was just saying the same thing to Jere before, doesn't sound like you had any better luck convincing him. Jeremy, why were you yelling? We are just trying to keep you safe."

Looking a little overwhelmed and once again becoming annoyed, Jeremy replied, "Yeah, both of you love to interfere in things that don't concern you, I'm getting out of here." With that he grabbed his bag and almost ran out the door, Stefan couldn't blame him, he had come to help Jeremy and had left him in a state far more confusing than anything Damon could have done.

He turned back to Elena, "I'm sorry for coming over after I promised to stay away, but seeing Jeremy with Damon earlier worried me, I just wanted to help." He really wanted to get out of here now, come to terms with what just happened.

"I understand Stefan, and thanks for trying, Jere is being a little stubborn, I'm not sure what to do, I think this new hunter thing is going to his head. He has had it for one week and suddenly he thinks he can't be hurt." Elena muttered, starting to head to the kitchen, internal thoughts obviously starting to race around her head.

_'One week?'_ Stefan thought, '_Strange coincidence, but how in anyway could they be related?' _Using her distracted state of mind, Stefan quickly excused himself and headed back for home. His mind trying to come up with any reason why Jeremy being a mystical vampire hunter would alter his feelings, he could think of no other reason why he had lost himself so. And if it was happening to him, were the others also feeling it? Suddenly thoughts and images of what could happen between a charmed Damon and a smitten Jeremy filled his head, he needed to fix this. But how could he broach such a subject with Damon, he needed to be sure that he was feeling it too. He resolved to monitor Damon and his interactions; he had to find out if others were affected.

Reaching his house Stefan immediately sensed that another person was inside, a vampire he was sure. Already being on edge, his suspicion went into red alert and he silently opened the door and grabbed the hidden stake beside it. As he climbed the stairs his brain started filling with potential adversaries that awaited him, with half his brain tied up trying to figure out way out of this Jeremy mess he couldn't think straight. As he opened the door to his room and like a light breeze stepped inside he breathed a quick sigh of relief, it was the one person he could have asked for.

Reacting in a flash, the vampire in question heard the sigh, and Stefan found himself once again pinned, this time to a wall. "Stefan? Why the hell were you sneaking around like that?"

"Sorry Caroline wasn't sure who you were, and you are in _my_ bedroom" Stefan replied, still feeling profound relief at Caroline's presence, out of everyone in Mystic Falls she was the one most likely to be able to fix this mess.

**A/N: Ok so yeah, I went with a generic overused supernatural cantrip, a love spell, sorta. Needed something to act as the trigger if you like, worry not this is still a Deremy story, just needed stuff to get it moving. Oh and if you can't tell I'm a massive Caroline fan, because, well who isn't? Please feel free to review, I'm still not actually sure I like the whole everyone loves Jeremy thing, but seemed to open doors.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Have just re-read what I have written and come to the conclusion I am a terrible writer lol. I'll try harder to actually make sense, but if I'm bad, I'm bad. This was the first chapter that actively didn't want to be written so hopefully it came out ok.**

Damon's POV

Stefan's voice had completely taken the wind out of his sails. Frustrated beyond measure now, he employed every stealth trick he could to get a look at the conversation going on down below. He was sure Stefan was going to have something high and mighty to say to Jeremy about Damon's 'instability.'

He reached the top of the stairs and managed to place himself to see what was going on. Apparently while getting into position he had forgotten to listen to the start of the conversation, Jeremy was already looking wildly annoyed.

"What the hell are you talking about Stefan, you mean the way I reached for breath when he was about to snap my neck? I'm sorry if unlike some people in this town I need to breathe!" Jeremy responded to whatever the question had been. Damon was confused about what was getting him so riled up, but then again he knew from experience how annoying Stefan could be.

Stefan visibly steeled himself, "I saw you Jeremy, a part of you liked what Damon was doing, you were disappointed when he released you."

_'What the hell?'_ Damon thought, what was Stefan on? He thought Jeremy liked it when Damon grabbed him, how had he reached that conclusion? Even as a part of him scoffed though, another part was filled with emotion; just maybe Jeremy wouldn't be as completely unreceptive to Damon's feelings as he thought.

"Are you saying I'm masochistic, are you high Stefan, didn't think you could get any crazier than last year, but you're getting there" Jeremy retorted. Damon smiled, he always appreciated when Jeremy tried to be witty, it wasn't always good, but it was almost endearing to Damon.

Stefan sighed, "No Jere, I don't think you like pain, I think you like Damon, I saw-" Several things then happened at once, Damon almost leaped for joy at the possibility of Jeremy's affection and Jeremy almost flew straight at Stefan, looking angry enough that Damon, for a moment, feared for Stefan's life.

Even as he watched Stefan reel backwards from Jeremy's sudden assault, he couldn't manage to move, to try and intervene, his mind was still processing several different trains of thought. Did Jeremy actually like him? Did Jeremy's over the top reaction mean Stefan spoke the truth or, more likely, was Jeremy disgusted by Stefan's statement? He didn't get much of a chance to ponder those questions; Jeremy had pinned Stefan down and was now straddling him in a way that made Damon suddenly and ridiculously jealous.

He started to move slowly down the stairs, ready now to stop Jeremy if things got any more out of hand, and he really wanted Stefan out from under Jeremy. It wasn't fair that Stefan got to be in that position. By the time he was halfway down the stairs he could see that Jeremy was starting to withdraw, but he could also see that Stefan had a strange, almost hypnotic look on his face, _'what the hell is wrong with him?'_ Damon thought, as he watched Stefan suddenly lean forward, and once again cause a new massive rip between the brothers. '_He kissed Jeremy, he KISSED Jeremy' _he could not believe what he had just saw, he knew that Stefan certainly could like guys, but he loved Elena, and, unlike Damon, was pretty much a one person guy, what had just happened? Damon was frozen on the spot, he watched as Jeremy rapidly withdrew and felt an oddly comforting sense of relief as Jeremy's fist collided with Stefan's still dazed looking face.

"What the fuck, Stefan!" Jeremy yelled, clearly confused and disturbed. Damon was conflicted about this, on the one hand it showed that Jeremy was certainly not interested in Stefan that way, but it also seemed to indicate that Jeremy really didn't like guys in general. He gritted his teeth, no matter how Jeremy reacted, the fact that Stefan had actually initiated the kiss was something that Damon was going to remember for a long time, his brother better be prepared to face Klaus alone when he next decides to try and stop him. Suddenly he sensed the door in front of him opening, Elena was back, Damon was right in her line of sight, with rapid celerity he retreated back upstairs and was out through the window before Elena had taken one step inside.

He staggered into the Mystic Grill, he desperately needed a drink. He sat down at the bar and groaned as he saw Matt approach him, "Man you look like crap, what new problem are we facing today?"

Damon frowned, "Shut it Boy Scout and get me a drink, fast" typical that it was Matt on today, it was never easy to get away from people in Mystic Falls it seemed. Thankfully Matt was mercifully quick with the alcohol and then left him alone; he needed to drown the image he currently had stuck in his mind, an unexpected kiss.

As he raised the glass though, his thoughts were drawn to a different kiss, one he enjoyed so much, yet also made him feel as angry as he had ever felt. It was during the ripper Stefan phase, when Stefan wasn't around yet Elena wouldn't give up on him. It frustrated Damon to no end; he needed to act on his feelings. He had resisted for a long time the urge to just compel love or desire, he wanted the real thing, but when he was pushed far enough, it ceased to be a concern. In one of his most shameful acts, from his point of view, he ran into Jeremy just after Andie's death. He needed, desperately, to be loved, to be touched, and in a moment of weakness he ripped off Jeremy's bracelet and compelled him into silence and submission. Then he kissed him. He may look back on the act itself as shameful, but the kiss itself was something Damon found himself remembering whenever he could. The feel of his lips on that perfect mouth, so sensual that for a moment Damon believed he could feel Jeremy kissing back, even if that wasn't part of the compelling. But then his shame kicked in and he drew back, he couldn't let it go any further, he looked Jeremy in those beautiful brown eyes and made him forget, that was when his frustrated feelings for Jeremy become firmly set in his heart.

Unfortunately he was jolted back to the present by an unexpected arrival, "Drowning your sorrows Damon? Elena turn you out again? Wait I don't care, you know I'm starting to get a little impatient mate, I let you all live, I gave up one my hybrids to fix Elena, remind me why you and Stefan aren't doing as I asked and finding us another hunter? Or did you want me to use the littlest Gilbert?" Klaus uttered.

_'Fantastic, just what I needed'_ Damon thought as he turned to look at Klaus, "There aren't exactly any leads at the moment Klaus, and your constant rush for this cure is getting old. I think it's just your own insecurities getting to you, just like your unhealthy obsession with making hybrids."

Klaus smiled, "You think because we're in a public place your safe? You should know better by now." He grabbed Damon by the back of the neck and slammed him into the table, spun him around and gripped him by the throat. Not a soul in the Grill moved. "You see, thanks to the new vervain shortage I've had my hybrids slowly compelling the whole town to ignore and serve me, there are no innocents anymore, they are all mine." Klaus intoned in a level voice.

Damon struggled against Klaus but he couldn't get out, which was not a surprise, not only was he not in much of a fighting mood today, Klaus was still an original. "What do you want Klaus, you didn't come just to kill me," Damon rasped.

"Your absolutely right mate, you're not worth my time, but with our hunter friend dead I expected you all to be running around looking for a shiny new replacement, yet it seems you people think you have more important things to do. I think you have forgotten exactly who I am, and I think it's time for a reminder. Remember when this is over that I gave you a chance, you were the ones who thought you could just ignore me." Klaus replied his smile still fixed on his face, promising more violence would soon follow.

"What are you going to do?" Damon said gratingly, he couldn't see what Klaus was thinking, but he knew enough to know that any plan from Klaus was bound to be bad for them.

"Oh not much, just going to educate you people on how to be efficient, now go to sleep." With that Klaus grabbed his head and with a vicious snap everything around Damon went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry about the massive gap between chapters, too distracted getting sick and watching TVD obviously my story is now out of date, but who cares! Hope you enjoy the chapter, more will follow at a quicker pace I hope. Just a reminder this story is valid with TVD up till Elena breaks up with Stefan no further. Feel free to review/berate me for taking so long J**

Stefan's POV

"You see Caroline, I don't know what to do, I don't understand how this could happen? It's got to be a spell or something." Stefan finished, explaining the story to Caroline had been a cathartic experience, he had been profoundly disturbed by what happened with Jeremy, and he felt a desperate need to justify his actions. Thankfully Caroline was just the person to tell.

Caroline started slowly, "You kissed Jeremy? Of course it's a spell Stefan! You love Elena; any idiot can see that, you're not going to go round kissing her brother without some form of supernatural interference. Don't worry Stefan we will fix this!" As usual with Caroline it was easy to see what she thought, she wore her heart on her sleeve and her emotions were clear from her voice and gestures, both of which were emphatic at this moment in time. Stefan was once again reminded how lucky he was to have a friend like Caroline, she was his new Lexi.

Stefan sighed, "It's not just finding out what is happening or explaining my actions, if this is really a spell then I worry what others will do when affected by it, especially Damon." Jeremy would be in for an interesting experience if Damon was affected the same way as Stefan had been, Damon could conceivably use Jeremy to get back at Elena. Thankfully Jeremy was a hunter now, he could at least defend himself to a degree, but that just made him worry about Damon.

"Ugh, and Damon would totally do something disgusting if that happened, we need to go see him" Caroline muttered, her dislike of Damon was flagrant, but Stefan couldn't really blame her, after all she had been Damon's mind slave for months at one point.

"I'm not sure where he is at the moment Car, maybe we should focus on getting help from Bonnie? If it's a spell we need to get it reversed quick" Stefan countered, not wanting to deal with Damon at the moment, he would ask too many prying questions if they went to him with this, and he didn't think he could stand it for Damon to find out about his recent indiscretion.

"Duh, its midday, where else would he be but the Grill, drinking himself into another idiotic move on Elena. Anyway, Bonnie can't work magic at the moment remember? I think she is getting help from that creepy professor from college but I trust random strangers about as far as I trust Damon." Caroline posited, she made a good point, and he really did need to face Damon eventually anyway. He doubted that what happened with Jeremy would stay secret forever. Caroline knew that too, and once again her intuition was spot on, "Look Stefan I know you probably don't want to face Damon right now, god knows he won't make this easy for us, but we need to keep him in check and explaining it to him will do you good too."

Stefan shrugged, "fine Caroline, you're probably right, let's go." As Caroline stood up to move Stefan quickly moved to grab her arm, "Caroline, thank you for helping me, I don't say this enough but you're a true friend."

"Stefan, you got me through my transition, nothing I can do will ever repay you for that. You deserve to be happy and I'm going to make sure you get it" Caroline replied, staring at him seriously. She took a step forward and hugged him, "You're my hero Stefan, never forget that. Now enough procrastinating, we have an ungrateful brother to pester."

They found Damon dead on the ground, surrounded by apparently oblivious townspeople. "What's going on Stefan? Why is everyone ignoring him?" Caroline asked, already moving on from caring that Damon had had his neck broken. It happened often enough anyway, the fact that everyone was going on as normal was a far more interesting occurrence.

"They must be compelled to ignore it, it's the only explanation, and that means Klaus was here" Stefan uttered, propping Damon's limp corpse up against the bar and trying to wake him up. Now was not the time to have to deal with Klaus too, he wondered what Damon had done to incur Klaus' wrath this time.

Caroline spun around to face him, "Great! Just what we needed, another Klaus drama, god!" Stefan almost smiled, Klaus didn't scare Caroline at all, just annoyed her.

Suddenly Matt walked in from the side door, "There you guys are! I've been trying to get hold of you; I'm guessing you have already figured out why. What I don't get is why no one cares."

Stefan repeated, "They have been compelled Matt, I'm just glad to see you haven't, keep that vervain with you at all times." He had forgotten Matt would probably be here, he didn't want to tell him to leave, but he didn't really want to explain the events of the day to such a wide audience, Matt was unlikely to understand. "I think it would be best if I got Damon back to the house, I don't expect he will be in a good mood when he wakes up."

Caroline concurred, "knowing Damon I think your probably right, innocents are never safe around him." No matter the situation Caroline just couldn't resist putting in a few jibes at Damon, Stefan always found it amusing, if not also a little worrying, Damon was liable one day to put Caroline rather firmly in her place. That would _not_ end well.

"Wake up Damon, you're being overly dramatic, it's just a neck snap." Stefan said as he grabbed Damon's limp body and shook him. Finally he felt Damon lurch back into movement, a small groan escaping from his contorted face. "Finally, what the hell did you do to piss off Klaus?" Stefan knew he needed to have the conversation with Damon, but he wanted to put it off for as long as possible. As much as he didn't want to deal with Klaus at the moment, it _was_ a perfect distraction from the upcoming talk.

Damon glared at Stefan, almost a growl really, and sprung to his feet in a crouch. "Damon, what the hell is wrong with you?" Stefan remarked, bemused by Damon's unusual reaction. The words didn't seem to register for Damon; he just sprung straight at Stefan. Unprepared for the sudden attack Stefan went straight down under him, hands flailing while he quickly tried to recover, feeling Damon reaching for his chest, he knew what was coming next. A burst of pain exploded from his breast as Damon's fingers punched through his skin and ribs and closed around his heart.

"What gives you the RIGHT Stefan? You constantly take everything, I should end you right now, then I can finally be free of your eternal interference!" Damon hissed between clenched teeth, his fingers slowly tightening around Stefan's heart. But even though it was his life that was currently in danger, Stefan was panicking far more over the words he had just heard. What had Damon heard or seen? Did he know already, why was his reaction so violent though? Jeremy wasn't here the spell shouldn't be affecting Damon so hard. It didn't matter at this very moment though; he had mere seconds before Damon finally went ahead with one of his many 'Stefan will die' threats.

"Damon, this isn't you! You're under a spell!" Stefan forced out through the pain. He hoped this could shock Damon enough to get him to listen, the whole series of events was a little too complex to explain while a vital area of his body was under significant vampiric distress.

Thankfully his words actually managed to reach Damon, though how he took it was surprising. Panic and a strangely crestfallen look passed over his face as he instinctively relaxed his grip over Stefan. Not waiting to see if Damon had truly ameliorated his vengeful intentions, Stefan braced both his hands and threw Damon across the room. The sudden feel of air against his inner chest stung, but it was a sign that rapid healing was moments away. "Damon, I'm not sure what you think you know but-"Stefan started.

"What I think I know? Stefan I _saw_ you, this morning, at Jeremy's, _kissing him_" Damon spat, interrupting violently. The rage Damon was displaying clearly tinged with not a small amount of jealousy. Again Stefan was confused; his own reactions weren't nearly this severe, even when Jeremy was in front of him. The fact that Damon had referred to the house as Jeremy's not Elena's was also rather telling.

Stefan spoke as calmly as possible, any wrong move here could see a sudden repeat of the previously mentioned heart removal, "Damon I can explain, I didn't want to kiss him, it just happened, it's-" once again Damon was quick to interrupt, at this rate he would never get a chance to explain.

"What you fell underneath him and your lips collided while getting up? Give me a break Stefan, you may be dull but surely you could have come up with a better excuse than that?" Damon retorted, thankfully moving from violence to his more usual sarcastic and cynical mindset. Hopefully now he would be slightly more open to reason.

"It's a spell Damon! Jeremy is cursed or something, it probably has to do with him being a hunter now, some sort of mysticism gone wrong. What you're feeling, the reason for the kiss, it isn't real, it's just weird magic." Stefan finally got out; surely Damon couldn't argue against the ridiculousness of these sudden feelings for Jeremy. Damon however looked rather abashed and confused; it looked like he didn't believe what Stefan had said. But his words seemed to belie that, "Oh, right, of course a spell that makes sense. Dear lord that kid is going to pay for making me feel this way!" His words started off so unsure, but as he spoke he seemed to gain confidence and anger, finally realizing that his own emotions were being tampered with. Stefan was just glad Damon had accepted it so well, though now he needed to keep Jeremy safe from his inevitable attempts at retribution, Damon doesn't like feeling at the best of times, being forced to feel probably wouldn't go down too well.

**Damon's POV**

He couldn't believe what he had just heard, a spell? That was responsible for his feelings? NO he didn't believe it, sure his lust for Jeremy had grown all the more unbearable in recent days, but the more important things, (And he can't believe he was about to think this) his feelings, had been with him for a lot longer than Stefan claimed to have been spelled. For a moment part of him wanted to take the excuse, use it to justify what he felt, absolve himself of responsibility and move on. But he knew the truth, and despite all his misgivings about the situation, he honestly didn't want to give up or change his feelings for Jeremy, and this whole series of events made him finally realize it.

Never-the-less he knew he couldn't admit that to his brother, now he knew that Stefan didn't actually have feelings for Jeremy, admitting that he did would not be a good move. Thankfully Stefan had given him a way out, a way to explain his sudden rage. Usually a rather accomplished liar, even to him it sounded pathetic when he sputtered, "Oh, right, of course a spell that makes sense. Dear lord that kid is going to pay for making me feel this way!" Ramping up his rage towards the end, he hoped he had managed to sell it to his brother; he needed to move on from this point and fast. Though his rage at Stefan was gone, he was surprised to find he was still jealous, just because the kiss wasn't from a true place of feeling didn't make it any less annoying that Stefan got it and he hadn't.

"It isn't his fault Damon, don't take this out on Jeremy, we will just have to avoid him and try and act with some control when he is around, at least until Bonnie gets here magic back and gets rid of the issue." Stefan almost pleaded, obviously concerned about the situation as well as Damon's chances of hurting Jeremy. Damon almost breathed a sigh of relief, Stefan had bought Damon's act whole hog, probably not surprising given Stefan' own issues with the spell.

Damon still had to sell it, "Bonnie better get her witchy juju back fast, or I won't be held responsible for my actions little bro."

"Caroline is headed to Whitmore already to see if Bonnie can help, she is apparently working with that professor on tapping into some 'other' magic source." Stefan responded.

Damon was surprised, he hadn't realised that Bonnie was still in contact with shady Shane. "You're telling me our only hope is an incompetent, powerless witch will learn new magic from professor shady pants? Since when did people start randomly trusting supernatural know-it-alls?" To be honest he didn't really care, Bonnie wasn't an important issue for him at this point in time, even the danger that Shane could present didn't rate, he was too caught up with Jeremy.

"It doesn't matter if we can't trust him Damon, we need him at the moment, I don't know about you but I am no expert on magical esteem issues. Once Bonnie gets her powers back then we can deal with Shane." Stefan countered, and he had a point, it was actually I very Damon move, trust and friendship doesn't matter; only the results, he was impressed with Stefan's drive.

"Well then, we only have one other issue to worry about, Klaus, he didn't put me out for no reason. He is a little obsessed with the cure, and I'm thinking his methods aren't going to be favourable to ours. I think it's time we found a way to get our hunter sword and find a way to take Klaus out of the picture."

**A/N: Hope you enjoy I will hopefully be updating more frequently in the weeks to come. **


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